Not gonna lie: The pressure was on for Preview's June 2024 cover the moment our Pride 2023 cover was unveiled. How do we sustain the momentum from last year's movement of creating something that represented beyond the usual glam for the LGBTQIA+ community?
"We had a hard time thinking of solid ideas," Creative Director Bacs Arcebal revealed in a special episode of The Making Of. It would take going back to the heart of the It Takes a Village cover to hone the team back to telling a story and amplifying voices. "That's when we decided to focus on representation in Philippine media," they shared.
WATCH: The Making of Preview's Pride Cover for June 2024
"Just like last year, it was a conscious decision for Preview to focus on a community rather than a singular cover star to really give justice to the story-telling," said Editor-in-Chief Marj Ramos-Clemente. This would translate into bringing together 32 media personalities from various fields both on and off the camera that would reflect the colorful SOGIE spectrum. And where better to gather show biz's brightest than in the local sinehan?
"The intent was to capture all cover stars in one room to show togetherness and how cinema can connect people," Bacs said of the tryptich cover carousel that was shot by Cenon at Mav in the custom theater stalls built by Rocket Sets.
From booking and scheduling the team and talents, to Cenon at Mav carefully orchestrating the lights to hit the subjects just right, to Migo Alomajan and Rocky Legaspi making sure we had just the right shade of green painted on the panels, to the smallest props and "easter eggs," no detail was too small in bringing this shoot to life. Fun fact: The landscape cover is actually the same size as the cinematic ratio used in traditional movies!
Bacs Arcebal and Cenon Norial Cha Remigio
It was Preview's biggest Pride cover shoot to date, and needless to say, mounting such a production would present its own set of challenges—one of which was finding a studio that could not only accommodate our cover stars' available shoot dates, but also our overall headcount, as well as our space and wattage requirements. Yes, it was, quite literally, that technical. Thankfully, Backyard Warehouse Studios also got their electrician on board to ensure that our vision wouldn’t get compromised.
Given the huge scale of the production, we also collaborated with stylist Gee Jocson and her associates Angelo Vasallo and Jason Mago to bring to life our fashion direction of retro eclectic red carpet styling for the shoot.
Pau Singh styling Easy Ferrer Cha Remigio
Cover stars donned pieces from Adam Pereyra, AVAVAV from Akimbo, Baro Label, Bagfull of Glitter, Dona Lim Studio, Ericson Manansala, Erin, Eustancia Rodriguez, Fickle Friends Studios, Fren Supply, Gervacio, Glorious Diaz, Greyhound, H&M, Helmut Lang from Univers, Heyjow, House of Laurel, Inigo, Jer Dee, Job Dacon, Katari, Kenzo from Cul de Sac Podium, Kiko Kostadinov from Univers, Martin Uy, Monohomme Studios, Our Paraiso, Paint N Style, Plain Sight x Sofia Cope, Pull & Bear, Rajo, Rajo Man, Randolf, Rosanna Ocampo, Russet Accessories, Sainte Marion, Simone Rocha from Univers, Sola Body, Sprinkles PH, Strong Village, Sunnies Studios, Viktor Manila, Zara, and Ziv Rei Alexi during the shoot.
Designers Neric Beltran and Job Dacon also gamely recreated custom looks for Darna and Valentina, respectively. These outfits stole the spotlight in the layouts inspired by iconic Filipino flicks.
Making sure that the cover stars were photo-ready at any angle, Team MVP headed by Muriel Vega Perez stepped up to the plate to execute the '80s to early '90s beauty direction of big hair, colorful eyeshadow, and bold lips. "They really made working on the shoot very easy and fun," Editorial Assistant for Beauty Isha Fojas said about working with Muriel and his team.
We also got to see our drag queens’ hair and makeup prowess firsthand as NAIA Black, Paolo Ballesteros, and Precious Paula Nicole did their own glam.
Aside from the theater and movie photos, Borgy Angeles also shot individual portraits that were reminiscent of old Hollywood cinematic headshots. To get this vintage aesthetic down to pat, he shot in black and white and then digitally recolored each photo one by one.
Of course, no Preview cover shoot would be complete without the videos. First up is the moving cover, to be shown across billboards in the metro. The catch was we didn't shoot everyone together so the stars had to remain within the markers set by Associate Multimedia Director Jana Jodloman. "We edited them all together in one frame, so that was quite a challenge," she shared, noting how we had to make sure they were as expressive as possible.
A short film was also produced in line with the cinematic theme. For this, three-time Pride Cover star Sassa Gurl was tapped to take the lead. Watch it on YouTube, if you haven’t yet!
It would take two full days of photo and video shoots apart from countless hours of planning, logistics, and post-production work. It was a lot of hard work, but being surrounded by passionate and talented creatives, who are, without a doubt, stars in their own right, made it lighter.
A heartening excitement was very much palpable as each and everyone was there to take part in something that was poised to spark more conversation and buzz around queer rights and the SOGIE Bill. As what Preview Content Creator for Entertainment Em Enriquez said in this month's cover story: "Representation matters not just because it provides resonance for people watching, but because it’s a tool that can push forward the ideals the community fights for. It pushes us to do something about the world around us, especially if it’s not as rosy as it appears on screen."
Read the Preview June 2024 cover story here.
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